Touching Spirit Bear Notes

Touching Spirit Bear Notes 11/16/09

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Michaelsen

Cole Matthews – Main character – Cole Matthews, a 15- year-old boy, beats up Peter Driscal after Peter informs police that Cole had robbed a hardware store and then trashed it. He is the protagonist.

Setting – Present day, Minneapolis, Minnesota and a remote (isolated) Alaskan island

Plot Graph – What the story is about.

Exposition – ( Setting, Main characters and problem or conflict) Cole Matthews, a 15 year old boy, beats up Peter Driscal after Peter informs police Cole broke into, robbed, and trashed a hardware store.

Types of Conflict – Person against Person – A problem between characters. Example: Cole fights Garvey initially. Cole fights Peter. Cole versus his father. Person against himself/herself – A problem within a character’s own mind - Cole is trying to learn to control his anger. Person Against Society – A problem between a character and society, the law, or some tradition Example: Circle Justice versus Cole Person Against Nature – A problem with some element of nature, such as a blizzard or hurricane Examples: Cole fights the Spirit Bear. He also fights against the weather. Person Against Destiny – A problem or struggle that appears to be beyond a character’s control.

Rising Action (Details that lead to the point of highest tension or climax)  Meets Garvey, his parole officer  goes through Circle Justice Meetings  banished to the island  burns hut/supplies  tries to escape island by swimming, current or tide stops him  mauled by spirit bear  recovers for six months  Circle Justice sends Cole back to island  Gains a better relationship with mom  Begins to carve out the totem pole and starts to learn from the animals he sees on the island and starts dancing their dances Symbols Within the Story Wolf – they run in packs, they rely on one another Whales – they are graceful and always migrating, but they don’t always have a home

Climax – (when a character changes or is forced to change. It is generally the point of highest tension) When Cole dances the anger dance and learns to forgive himself.

Falling Action (A sharp decline in dramatic tension)  Asks Edwin if Peter can come to the island  Peter tries to commit suicide  Cole wants to teach Peter to forgive, to become invisible, roll the ancestor rock, soak in the pond  Garvey brings Peter  Peter’s father threatens Cole  Peter ignores Cole  Peter secretly trips, throws rocks, and eventually hits Cole  Cole is forced to sleep in tent, get wet because Peter does not want to be in the same room with him  Peter carves a bear on Cole’s totem pole and agrees to teach Cole how to do so.  Boys carve the totem poles together  Peter and Cole see the Spirit Bear  Cole gives Attow to Peter

(Snickers Bar was a peace offering – it is a turning point for Peter)

Resolution (The conclusion of the story. The problem/conflict is solved)  Peter and Cole carve a circle on the totem poles

 Realistic stories refer to stories that indeed could happen to people and animals. It is within the realm of possibility.  Types of Realistic Fiction – Factual realism- people, places, or events are real (must be accurate) – Situational realism- the situation can likely happen. Example- the survival story. – Emotional Realism- believable feeling and relationships among characters. Coming of age stories are examples of this. – Social realism- an honest portrayal of society and its conditions at the moment – Contemporary Realism- takes place in present time and shows attitudes and beliefs of today’s culture Additional Literature Vocabulary

Narrator – The speaker who tells the story. This person may also be a character in the story. This is not the author.

Point-of-View- The perspective from which a story is told

Protagonist – Main character in the story usually a hero or good guy

Setting – the where and when the story takes place

Symbol – An image, object, character or action that stands for an idea beyond its literal meaning.

Theme – The story’s main ideas. The message the author intends to communicate by telling the story. Themes are universal truths that are suggested by the specifics of the story.

Themes of TSB – Control anger and forgiveness

Foreshadowing – A writing technique that gives the reader clues about events that will happen later in the story

Imagery – The use of selected detail to describe one thing in terms of another. This comparison helps suggest additional meanings and feelings.